Boston Mayor Pledges Support for Major New Initiative to Combat Bullying in Local School Districts; Partners with BULLY Filmmaker

Boston Mayor Marty J. Wlash
Photo: City of Boston (cityofboston.gov)

New Partnership Between the US Conference of Mayors and the BULLY Project Engages Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to Make Boston’s Schools Safer and Effective for All Learners

BOSTON, Mass.—Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has signed onto a new partnership with The U.S. Conference of Mayors and The BULLY Project as part of a major national initiative to develop local solutions-based responses to combat the epidemic of bullying in local schools.  

Mayor Walsh joins more than 170 mayors from around the country who have signed on to the project – called the Mayors’ Campaign to End Bullying – to raise awareness, foster safe school climate, and work with experts from The BULLY Project to create customized responses to bullying in their local school districts.

“Every child deserves a chance to wake up every morning and go to school without fear of being bullied. My administration is 100% committed to creating safe environments for our children to learn, grow, and thrive,” explained Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. “At the US Conference of Mayors, I was proud to join mayors from around the country who share the same vision in this campaign to end bullying.” [pullquote]Mayor Walsh joins more than 170 mayors from around the country who have signed on to the project – called the Mayors’ Campaign to End Bullying – to raise awareness, foster safe school climate, and work with experts from The BULLY Project to create customized responses to bullying in their local school districts.[/pullquote]

As part of the initiative, Boston will have access to technical support from a team of education specialists at the University of Illinois in partnership with The BULLY Project. The experts will provide participating mayors with advice and research on programmatic approaches to ending bullying, so the solutions developed through the initiative are based strongly in recognized best practices and have a sustainable impact that lasts beyond National Bullying Prevention Month in October.

FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL PARTICIPATING CITIES AND MAYORS: http://tiny.cc/mayors_14

The BULLY Project will also provide participating mayors with screening resources, including the film and specialized discussion guide, strategic event support, and supplemental educational resources to help mayors plan and host scalable events that raise awareness and focus community efforts to keep schools safe. [pullquote]”Every child deserves a chance to wake up every morning and go to school without fear of being bullied. My administration is 100% committed to creating safe environments for our children to learn, grow, and thrive,” explained Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.[/pullquote]

“As community leaders, it is the responsibility of mayors to raise awareness and educate city residents about not only the potentially tragic effects of bullying, but also the many real ways that school climate impacts how our schools perform and innovate,” added Sacramento Mayor and USCM President Kevin Johnson.  “Developing and implementing long term anti-bullying initiatives that engage top level community stakeholders including superintendents, law enforcement and philanthropic leaders is critical for the health and safety of not only our children, but all our residents.  We are proud to stand in partnership with The Bully Project on this historic Mayors campaign in order to end bullying once and for all in the nation’s cities.”

“With Congress stalled on legislation to end the bullying epidemic, the Mayors’ Campaign to End Bullying is a critical initiative to establish policies and programs that would improve the lives of the 13 million kids bullied in America each year.” said Lee Hirsch, filmmaker behind Bully and founder of The BULLY Project.  “Working with Mayor Walsh, we hope to engage Boston’s communities in developing a specific action plans that draw from research-based initiatives and best practices, so that we move beyond temporary fixes to permanent solutions that enable all children and educators to learn and teach in safe, supportive environments.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://tiny.cc/mntgjx

The Mayors’ Campaign to End Bullying—which launched on Saturday, June 21st at the US Conference of Mayors  annual meeting in Dallas—has already gained the support from more than 170 mayors nationwide with nearly 70 percent of the US Conference of Mayors attendees signing on in the first few days to tackle the issue of bullying in their local schools during National Bullying Prevention Month in October. 

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

The Bully Project is an advocacy and educational organization inspired by the award winning film, Bully.  Since 2011, Bully has been seen by more than 3.4 million children through nearly 10,000 school and community screenings. Working with more than 100 partners globally, The BULLY Project motivates and builds capacity for educators to create safer schools, reduce bullying and improve educational outcomes for all.  Find out more at www.thebullyproject.com, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/bullymovie or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/bullymovie.